Project Proposal

For

  Re-introduction of Elephant and other wildlife species to the Quiçama National Park, Angola

 

                        

 

 

 

  

   

Project Director:                     Professor Wouter van Hoven

1.     Pre-amble

A twenty-five year long war in Angola has ended – other countries participated, and everybody lost. Once again the innocent and defenseless became the major casualties - the wildlife and the people were the real victims.

 Very little of the teaming herds and unique species of wildlife in Angola can be seen today. The Kissama Foundation is now reversing this trend. The Kissama Foundation was formed in order to rehabilitate the national parks of Angola, to reintroduce wildlife species that have disappeared, to nurture back those species that are on the brink of extinction such as the Giant Sable, to give back to the people of Angola that, which a war fuelled by foreign ideologies, took away from them.

 The Quiçama National Park, situated just south of Luanda, Angola, is virtually depleted of wildlife. From 1995-2000 an in-depth study of the ecology of the northern section of the park has been completed. This study was done by faculty and graduate students from the Centre for Wildlife Management of the University of Pretoria. Based on this study an extensive program of wildlife reintroduction has started. Operation Noah’s Ark is a project of the Kissama Foundation and involves the relocation and reintroduction of several animal species to Quiçama. The first and second relocations involved four successful airlifts of family groups of elephant, zebra, ostrich, eland, blue wildebeest , kudu and giraffe during September 2000 and September 2001. A total of 36 relocated elephant now roam in a special conservation area fenced out of Quiçama National Park. Further relocations are planned during 2004, by ship. Species to be relocated include more elephant and smaller numbers of eland, red buffalo and roan antelope species. Animals will be sourced for relocation from various countries in southern Africa, especially from areas where an overpopulation of a specific species exists.

Operation Noah’s Ark forms an integral part of the entire restoration of the Quiçama National Park. The reintroduction of wildlife and eventual repopulation of the entire park will enable the park to become self-sufficient through ecotourism to the area. With its proximity to the Angolan capital, Luanda, the Quiçama National Park will also play an important role in conservation education.

North-West Parks in South Africa has offered a further 75 elephants from the critically overpopulated Madikwe Reserve. The South African Navy has offered their assistance by making a supply ship, the SAS Outeniqua, available to transport the wildlife to Angola. Unicorn shipping has donated a total of 40 containers to house the animals. Conditions in the Park will dictate the final numbers to be released.

2.     Objectives

The goal of this project is to re-introduce elephant and other wildlife species to the Quiçama National Park, thereby establishing a viable population that will breed and eventually repopulate the entire area. The project will address two important issues:

The project has four primary objectives:

1)     To relocate elephants in family groups to the Quiçama National Park in Angola.

·        Obtain donations of elephants from various southern African countries where an               overpopulation exists.

·        Capture elephants in family groups, so as to minimize disturbance of social structure.

·        Transport elephants by airplane and ship to the Quiçama National Park, Angola.

 2)     To monitor the elephants’ adaptation and habitat impact in the Quiçama National Park.

·        Fit matriarchs and key individuals in each family group with radio-telemetric devices to enable tracking and monitoring.

·        Conduct several research projects into the adaptation of the animals as well as the habitat impact.

 3)     To increase the involvement of the local community in the long-term conservation of the elephants and the activities in the Quiçama National Park.

·        Train additional game guards for protection, monitoring and surveillance of elephants and other species.

·        Train local persons as hospitality staff and educational officers in the rest camps.

·        A comprehensive project of capacity building and integration of local communities into the management of the park and provision of hospitality services is being launched parallel with the wildlife rehabilitation program.

 4)     To increase capacity for elephant research and management methodologies and promote exchange of experiences between projects.

·        Train Angolan researchers in elephant research and management methods at Quiçama National Park.

·        Promote the sharing of experiences and lessons learned between this and other elephant re-introduction and conservation projects.

 3.     Methodology and work plan

 Objective 1)    To relocate elephant in family groups to the Quiçama National Park in

Angola.

 The Quiçama National Park historically had an elephant population of about 4000 animals. Uncontrolled hunting in the early part of the 20th century and wide-scale poaching during the civil war of the past 25 years has decimated the elephant population in Quiçama. However, the habitat has been well preserved and is in good condition for the relocation and re-establishment of an elephant population and other species that historically occurred in the area.

The Quiçama National Park covers an area of 3 million acres, with the boundaries being the Atlantic ocean in the west, the Cuanza River in the north, the Longa river in the south and a belt of dense, tall thicket in the east. The size of the park complicates the initial re-introduction of elephant, as it would be virtually impossible to track small numbers of elephant in such a vast area and protection and surveillance would also be very difficult. In this regard it was decided that a Special Conservation Area of approximately 40 000 acres be enclosed with electrified fencing and that the first elephant re-introductions would be into this control area. The fencing was completed in August 2000 and the first re-introduction took place during September 2000.

The North-West Parks and Tourism Board of South Africa donated the first group of elephants that was re-introduced to the Quiçama National Park. The elephants were from the Madikwe Game Reserve, where a serious overpopulation of elephant currently exists. Dr. Kobus du Toit, who has vast experience in elephant relocation, headed the game capture team. On the day prior to capture suitable family groups were identified by helicopter. The groups were darted with immobilizing drugs, loaded into custom-built shipping containers and transported on low-bed trucks to Mafikeng International Airport. The elephants were then flown into Cabo Ledo  base inside the Quiçama National Park with an Illyusiun 76 aircraft, where the containers were loaded onto trucks and transported to the off-loading ramp inside the Special Conservation Area where the containers were opened and the elephants released. Two flights of elephant were undertaken, with a total of 15 elephants released. The government of Botswana donated the second group of elephant and the relocation took place in September 2001 in a similar way as described above.

Further relocations will be done in a similar way, but a navy ship being the mode of transportation. The road transport with low-bed trucks will be by a private company. If conditions outside of the Special Conservation Area are not 100% safe for both elephants and humans in 2004, a smaller number of elephants will be relocated and released only in the Special Conservation Area. The balance will be considered for relocation the following year.

The South African Navy has made available a 25K ton supply ship for the transport of elephants to the Quiçama National Park. The operation by sea will take place as follows:

·        Elephant will be captured in Botswana and South Africa.

·        Elephant will be loaded into custom-built shipping containers and transported on low-bed trucks to Walvis Bay, Namibia.

·        Other species of wildlife will be bought on the open market, mostly in Namibia, and also transported in modified containers to the SAS Outeniqua, waiting in Walvis Bay.

·        Only species endemic to Angola, and known to have occurred in the region of Quiçama National Park, will be released in the Special Conservation Area.

·        The shipping containers will be loaded onto the SAS Outeniqua, which will depart for Angola.

·        Eventually, no animals will be released from the Special Conservation Area into the Quiçama National Park, that were not endemic to the Park 

Objective 2)    To monitor their adaptation and habitat impact in the Quiçama National

Park.

During the first re-introduction the matriarchs and a couple of other individuals were fitted with radio-telemetric devices while immobilized which enable tracking, monitoring and surveillance of the elephants. A private company in Sweden sponsored the radio collars. These elephants have now been in the Quiçama National Park for more than one year and have adapted very well. The same can be said of the second group of elephant, relocated September 2001.

During further re-introductions, key individuals will also be fitted with radio-telemetric devices and monitored in order to successfully implement a program of adaptive wildlife management. If possible it would be of an advantage to use satellite collars since they simplify the work of the monitoring in the long term. With these collars it is possible to read the information from a computer, anywhere in the world.

The project will document and record the elephants’ use of habitat and movements during different times of the year with Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. Location data (GPS points and identity of the elephant groups) will be overlayed on a vegetation map of the Quiçama National Park using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software.

Several research projects will be initiated and conducted by faculty and graduate students from the Centre for Wildlife Management of the University of Pretoria and the Department of Biology of the Agostinho Neto University of Luanda. Research students from other universities are invited to do much needed wildlife research in the Quiçama National Park. Results of research will be implemented in the management strategy of this newly rehabilitated national park.

Objective 3)    To increase the involvement of the local community in the long-term

conservation of the wildlife and the activities in the Quiçama National Park.

Up to date 40 soldiers who served in the Angolan Armed Forces, left unemployed by the end of the civil war, have been trained and employed as game guards. These guards also assist with monitoring and surveillance of the wildlife. With further re-introductions of animals, additional game guards will be employed as needed.

Game guards will be trained in the fields of ecology, tracking, navigation and safety procedures. They will be crucial in the monitoring of illegal activities in the park and protection of the wildlife. Capacity building will ideally start with the immediate neighbours.

The Caua rest camp has been restored and opened to the public. Several members of the local community have been employed and trained as hospitality staff. More camps are planned and a second lodge will also be developed shortly. This will create the opportunity for more employment of the local community in the hospitality industry. A complete restaurant has just been built in the Special Conservation Area to serve the tourists that come to see the wildlife.

 

Conservation officers and educational officers from the local community will also be trained to fulfil an educational role in interacting with the public in the rest camps and lodge as well as on guided trips in the park. An educational centre will also be established in the park. The German Chapter of the CIC has just made two game viewing Unimog buses available to transport school children, who might have otherwise never experienced nature and begin to understand the purpose of conserving these resources, in the Special Conservation Area.

 

Objective 4)    To increase capacity for wildlife research and management methodologies

and promote exchange of experiences between projects.

We are proposing to provide training to several Angolan researchers under this project. The proposed project will provide training in wildlife monitoring, surveillance for potential problems and reporting.

As the project expands it will be necessary to promote the sharing of experiences and lessons learned between elephant re-introduction and conservation projects across the continent. The process and research conducted during this project will be documented in the form of papers to be distributed widely for the benefit of elephant and other wildlife species conservation. Project updates and information will also be made available on our website at www.kissama.org

4.     Anticipated benefits and outputs

The ultimate conservation impact of this project is to re-introduce elephant into an area where elephant historically occurred in large numbers. As a result of this project a viable population will be re-established in the Quiçama National Park that will eventually repopulate the entire park.

Participatory planning and involvement of the local community will ensure long-term acceptance of the elephant population in the park. The project is also aimed at building the necessary local capacity for elephant research and conservation in and around the Quiçama National Park.

Several project outputs are anticipated:

·        A healthy wildlife population within the Quiçama National Park.

·        Attracting tourists to the Quiçama National Park, thereby enabling the park to become financially self-sustainable.

·        Job creation for local community as game guards, educational officers and hospitality staff.

·        Conservation education for local people as well as Luanda residents, with the park’s proximity to Luanda being an advantage.

·        Training of Angolan researchers in wildlife research and management.

·        The re-integration of former soldiers and war victims into normal society.

·        Ensuring worldwide media coverage of these programs in order to fast track the acceptance of Angola as an unique tourism destination, as well as attracting foreign investment by demonstrating that this country is ready to take its credible place in the international community.

5.     Monitoring and evaluation procedures

The animals and the way they adapt and multiply in this new environment will define success in a program of this nature. Success will further be defined by the number of tourists that will make this park sustainable and the good relations and employment we will create with our neighbours adjacent to the Park.

All major wildlife herds will be fitted with radio-telemetric devices, which will enable researchers to monitor their well-being and habitat selection. The plant communities will also be monitored in order to record their reaction to utilisation by herbivores.

Since Operation Noah’s Ark is attracting a lot of attention in the media, a lot of publicity value for the project’s sponsors will be gained. The National Geographic Television Channel has been contracted to make a 30-minute documentary, which has been broadcasted at 19:00 on 28 November 2002 in the USA. Various Television Channels would like to obtain footage for news programs. Many requests have also been received from the printed media to document the event. Media aircraft will circle the Noah’s Ark as it steams north along the African coast.

6.     Summary of Kissama Foundation Policy

The Board of Directors met every two months during the first four years up to 1999 in Luanda, to make decisions on policy, practices and other aspects pertaining mostly to the Quiçama National Park. It was decided, as practically zero wildlife existed in the Park, to first enclose a section of about 15 000ha with an electrified game proof fence to keep elephant and other wildlife inside. The plan was to only introduce elephant and eland, since other species such as the red/forest buffalo, roan antelope and sitatunga were difficult to find. Several members of the board later proposed that a number of other species that are endemic to Angola should be brought in, but in low numbers, and that the animals should be restricted to the Special Conservation Area. During this time the Antelope Specialist Group of the IUCN was also consulted and came out supporting this wildlife conservation proposal, as did the WILD Foundation, Humane Society of the USA, the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) and the Centre for Wildlife Management, University of Pretoria.

Finally, the Board agreed to the following:

1.       To introduce zebra, ostrich, blue wildebeest, kudu and giraffe which are all indigenous to Angola but not necessarily indigenous to the Quiçama National Park.

2.       These animals will be kept only in the Special Conservation Area and the fence will be maintained to ensure that the animals stay in this area.

3.       These animals are to serve as a further attraction to visitors.

4.       The animals are to be managed in such a way as to ensure re-production, in order to create a gene pool for future re-introductions into other areas and National Parks, where their numbers are either very low or have been depleted totally. These animals could also later be sold to future game ranches in Angola, which could provide further sustainable income to Quiçama National Park.

5.       This Special Conservation Area is to serve further as an Educational Centre for the youth of Angola, to introduce them to wildlife and the conservation of the environment.

6.       This area is also to serve as a training area for game guards, rangers and hospitality industry staff that can later be deployed in other areas.

7.       The Special Conservation Area is seen as a temporary measure, since small numbers of species endemic to Quicama National Park cannot be introduced into a million hectares without control, protection and management.

8.       The life span of the Special Conservation Area is planned at this time to be about ten years, after which species not endemic to Quiçama National Park will be relocated elsewhere in Angola and the fence brought down.

The responsible Ministry, being the Ministry of Agriculture, approved all re-introductions and issued import permits. The Minister of Fisheries and the Environment, the Honorable Fatima Jardim, vice-president of the Kissama Foundation, encouraged the progress of the re-introductions. In her capacity as Minister of Fisheries and the Environment, she also attended the release of the animals and ceremoniously opened certain of the containers on site.

This Special Conservation Area has proved to be very successful since the first animals, including elephant, were released in September 2000. All animals are doing very well and have started reproducing. Only the ostrich has been recorded as not reproducing. The fence has also proven to be very effective, since not a single animal has roamed out of this area. A negative consequence of this Conservation Area, is that members of the public in Luanda come occasionally and release primates such as chimpanzee, gorilla and baboon in our custody. Two baboons have been released in the veld and were never seen again. Two tame young chimpanzees were brought to the camp, approximately 5 years ago and were taken outside of this Special Conservation Area to the guard outpost, Catalangombe where they eventually died. Baby primates are popular household pets in Luanda, but when they grow up, so do the problems.

This is the only place in Angola where visitors can go and actually see indigenous Angolan wildlife, and stay in comfortable air-conditioned chalets. It is so popular that all the available accommodation is fully booked in Caua Camp over weekends. Many weekdays are also booked and this form of income is exactly what the Park needs to become self supporting in its task of wildlife conservation. As a result of this, the Minister of Fisheries and the Environment has commissioned the building of a restaurant overlooking the Cuanza river in Caua camp. The success of the project has caught the attention of foreign tour groups. Prof W van Hoven has also negotiated the donation of 2 large, 12 seater (Unimog) game viewing vehicles from the German chapter of the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), to utilise for youth educational purposes.

7.     Latest resolutions of the Board of the Kissama Foundation, 11 April 2003

The Kissama Foundation has, with the help of the WILD Foundation submitted an application to the GEF(Global Environmental Fund) on behalf of the Angolan Government. A grant of US$1 million has been conditionally approved. The UNDP, as implementing agency for the GEF in Angola, requested that the Kissama Foundation should not introduce further wildlife species to Quiçama National Park that has not been prooved to have occured there historically. Furthermore that the Kissama Foundation should optimize the maintenance of the electrified game proof fence of the Special Conservation Area in order to ensure its present effectiveness in restricting wildlife to this area. At the meeting of the Board in Luanda on 11 April 2003, this request was approved. No species that are not endemic to Quiçama National Park will in future be released in the Special Conservation Area .

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